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Mesa, Arizona, installed thirteen speed cameras and three red-light cameras in 1996. After three years the program was $10,000 in the red. Being a governmental agency, Mesa did not let a small thing like losing money stop it from expanding the program so that taxpayers could lose more money. Mesa had net [...] Arizona Republic: “Photo-enforcement cameras have snapped employees driving Maricopa County vehicles more than 1,500 times over the last two years as they exceeded speed limits and run red lights. A Republic review of thousands of documents obtained through a public-records request found that sheriff’s deputies overwhelmingly received most of the tickets, usually when [...] Arizona Republic: “Carrying signs that read ‘Will Flash for Cash’ and ‘Cops Not Cameras,’ several dozen people rallied this afternoon [February 6, 2010] to protest photo enforcement methods. Leaders of Arizona Citizens Against Photo Radar, an organization that is gathering signatures for a ballot initiative to ban use of such traffic monitoring devices, [...] Arizona Republic: “The Department of Public Safety’s newly appointed director this week joined a growing chorus of powerful voices speaking out against the state’s photo-enforcement system. In interviews this week, Robert Halliday said that the system should be restructured if it’s not scrapped. Halliday, whose appointment must be confirmed by lawmakers, said he [...] Arizona Republic: “Photo-enforcement cameras may not last through the summer on Arizona’s highways, given recent activity at the state Capitol to shut down the program. Pressure is growing among state politicians to scrap the network of freeway boxes that snap photos of speeding motorists, and a few lawmakers have introduced bills that would [...] Phoenix Business Journal: “A state audit of photo radar tickets released Tuesday found the program brought in $37 million in its first year, short of former Gov. Janet Napolitano’s estimate of $90 million a year.” USA Today: “Red-light cameras that have been gaining a foothold in many states face a growing public backlash and outright removal. The cameras, billed as safety devices since their introduction in the USA nearly 20 years ago, are increasingly viewed by many motorists as unreasoning revenue generators for hard-up local governments.” A man associated with Redflex, the company that operates Phoenix area speed cameras, filed a petition with the Arizona Supreme Court on January 8, 2010, asking the court to change the method used to serve speed camera tickets on people. The goal of the petition is to make service of tickets easier so [...] Arizona Republic: “A Chandler man suspected of standing through his open sunroof while speeding on Valley freeways has turned himself in. Arizona Department of Public Safety officers arrested 25-year-old Richard Anthony Flores on suspicion of reckless driving and criminal speed, DPS reported.” Arizona Republic: “Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas was lauded by many opponents of photo-enforcement in February when he announced that he would not prosecute criminal speeders caught by the new technology. But six weeks later, Keith Manning, Thomas’ law-enforcement liaison, issued a memo to the Arizona Department of Public Safety detailing what steps [...] Arizona Republic: “Speed cameras have caught another criminal suspect. Department of Public Safety officers on Thursday arrested Elvis Saloum, 29, of Peoria, on 11 counts of suspected criminal speeding and one of reckless driving, all of which were caught through the agency’s photo-enforcement program. Officers say Saloum also was photographed speeding through Valley [...] Arizona Republic: “A foe and a proponent of photo enforcement squared off in a public forum Thursday. One of the few things they agreed on was that drivers don’t have to pay the tickets that arrive in the mail. ‘Mail is not proper service,’ said Shawn Dow of Arizona Citizens Against Photo Radar, [...] Arizona Republic: “For photo-enforcement critics, Dave Vontesmar became something of a hero after he was accused of speeding down Valley freeways with a monkey mask strapped to his head. But as Vontesmar’s many alleged violations have entered the court system, his cases have demonstrated some issues related to the volume of violations [...] Phoenix Business Journal: “The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Wednesday approved a $20 fee on tickets from speed cameras that go through its court system as a way to keep the cases rolling.” Phoenix Business Journal: “The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will hold a Nov. 4 public hearing to discuss attaching a $20 fee to photo radar tickets to help the county’s justice system deal with the influx of violations.” Search the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s database for information about the number of activations, tickets and payments made at each speed camera and the location of cameras. A red light camera in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, took a picture of a vehicle going through a red light. Baton Rouge police reviewed the photo of a blue Mercury with Texas plates and sent the citation to a Louisiana man who owned a white GMC Yukon XL with Louisiana plates. The innocent man [...] The Arizona Department of Public Safety has a website where it has information about the DPS photo radar speed enforcement program. The best part of the site is the page called “Photo Enforcement Camera Locations” where DPS has a Google map that shows the location of its photo radar units. This page also [...] An Arizona man is making national news headlines, but he may not want the publicity. The Associated Press reports: A driver has racked up dozens of speeding tickets in photo-radar zones on Phoenix-area freeways while sporting monkey and giraffe masks, and is fighting every one by claiming the costumes make it impossible [...] Arizona Republic reporter JJ Hensley’s story says that only 24 percent of people who receive speed-camera (aka photo-radar) tickets from one of the state’s 78 fixed or mobile units pay the fine voluntarily. That number is down from 34 percent last October. The Phoenix New Times has two excellent articles and lengthy stories on photo radars, speed cameras and Arizona law. The articles are titled “Arizona Photo Enforcement Ticket: How to Beat It and Keep Your Conscience Clear and “Gotcha!.” People ask us all the time: What can I do about that nasty photo radar ticket I got [...] |
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